Freezing eggs has opened a whole new world for couples and individuals who dream of becoming parents. Women who are not yet ready to start their families can freeze eggs for later use. Infertile females can use frozen eggs from donors to become pregnant. Intended parents can acquire frozen eggs from donors for use by a gestational carrier. And individuals can freeze eggs if faced with health crises requiring treatment that may affect fertility or the quality of their eggs. We never know what the future holds – but freezing eggs gives you a chance to preserve a moment in time when the body is producing eggs in optimal condition.

Advances in cryobiology have increased the odds of successful pregnancies with frozen eggs. At Midwest Reproductive Center (MRC), we have experienced high success rates with frozen eggs as well as frozen embryos and frozen sperm. That is thanks to our experienced staff, particularly our IVF lab director Oscar Perez, Ph.D. Dr. Perez is a board-certified reproductive embryologist with more than 20 years of experience. Dr. Perez is certified as a high-complexity laboratory director, and as an embryology and andrology lab director.

Taking Steps toward Freezing Your Eggs

When you are ready to cryopreserve your eggs, you begin a routine process to maximize the number of high-quality oocytes (eggs) that your body produces.

Talk with our Team at MRC. Dr. Dan Gehlbach will explain the overall vitrification process and answer your questions about the egg freezing procedure and associated costs.

Meet with Experts. When you have made the decision to freeze eggs for future use, our fertility experts will conduct a thorough assessment to determine whether the procedure is right for you. Dr. Gehlbach will ask about your medical history and reproductive health, order blood tests, conduct a physical exam, and provide an assessment of your likelihood of success.

Begin a Series of Fertility Medications. After you are tested for infectious diseases, which would prevent use of the cryopreservation storage facility, you will begin a 10- to 14-day series of medications or injections to help your body increase its production of eggs – similar to what our in-vitro fertilization (IVF) clients undergo. MRC will monitor your results to make sure that your body is responding to the treatment.

Collect Your Eggs. You will come to our fertility clinic for a minor procedure that should take less than an hour, followed by time to recover from the mild sedative. Our experienced fertility specialist will remove approximately 8 to 12 eggs and together with our skilled embryologist, he will assess which eggs are mature and best for cryopreservation.

Freeze the Eggs. We utilize a state-of-the-art vitrification process to preserve your eggs. An improvement over the slow-freeze method, the vitrification technique reduces the water in your eggs before freezing, preventing damage from expanding ice crystals. The eggs are placed in a solution that functions as “antifreeze” for your eggs. Vitrified eggs thaw better and experience higher success with fertilization.

The vitrification process also is highly effective with embryos and sperm. When an egg is fertilized, the resulting blastocyst (embryo) is flash frozen until needed. It can remain viable for as long as 10 years. Sperm can be saved in a similar method. The sperm is put into a centrifuge to remove plasma before it is treated with the vitrification solution and immediately frozen. The re-thawed sperm has more than twice the motility of previous methods, according to a report from the International Federation of Fertility Societies.

Arrange for Secure Storage. Your eggs will be safe and secure for almost a decade. They are held in high-quality storage containers that feature fail-safe liquid nitrogen refrigeration systems supported by back-up power supplies. We have multiple methods of ensuring that your eggs are maintained in pristine condition until you are ready to access them. It’s important to consider what you wish to do with your eggs in the event that you do not need or want them in the future.

Visit Us when You Are Ready for Parenthood. When you determine that the time is right, we will retrieve your eggs and begin the IVF procedure for you or your gestational carrier, introducing sperm into the thawed egg and preparing the embryo for implantation.